Tunisia constitution needs stronger free press guarantees

Human
rights groups and legislators are praising the third and final draft of Tunisia's new constitution as
one of the most liberal charters in the Arab world--and for being arrived at by
a remarkably consensual process among political parties, especially if compared
with neighboring Egypt and Libya.

As
Tunisians celebrate the third anniversary of the revolution that removed former
dictator Ben Ali from power, the National Constituent Assembly has been debating and voting
on the draft, article by article, according
to news reports and human rights organizations. The assembly has made great strides in areas such as the role
of religion in public life, women's rights, and freedom of religion--issues on
which the rest of the region finds difficulty compromising.

Articles
30 and 31 ensure freedom of opinion and expression and access to information according to news reports. Article 30 says: "Freedom of
speech, thought and expression and
media and publishing are guaranteed and there is no prior censorship on these
freedoms." This article was approved by 173 of the 217 members, with nine
abstentions, and without any objection. Article 31 states, "The State shall
guarantee the right to access the media and information." It was approved by
171 members, with nine abstentions and one objection.

However,
two provisions fall short of international standards to which the Tunisian
Constituent Assembly has committed under the EU-Tunisia
action plan, which stresses
respect for freedom of expression and media pluralism in exchange for financial
cooperation.

Of
concern is Article 124, which provides for setting up of a regulatory body that
would "regulate and develop the information sector and guarantee freedom of the
press and expression and the right of access to information." This mandate, combining the regulation of
access to information as well as the media, is too broad.

The
second concern is the independence and impartiality of that regulatory body, as
its members would be elected by representatives of political parties in the
future House of Representatives, according to article 122 of the draft
constitution.

While
this is a break from the past, when the government had complete control the appointment
of media regulators, CPJ believes that this mechanism would open the way for
politicization of the regulator, allowing any political party in the majority to
stifle the press, just as the Ministry of Information did during Ben Ali's era.

Members
of the National Constituent Assembly should ensure that the government and
political parties are excluded; the formation of such a regulatory body should
be done independently by Tunisian journalists, with the help of other civil
society institutions.

The National Constituent Assembly has already
approved Articles 122 and 124, along with dozens of others. The approval of two-thirds majority is needed to pass each
article. The assembly began voting January 3, in a bid to
finalize the vote January 14, the anniversary of Ben Ali's ouster, according to
news reports. But disagreements on executive and judicial powers disrupted that plan. Voting
is expected to resume once a dispute between
members on the formation of a new cabinet is resolved, according to news sources.

As
their discussions on human rights draw to a close,
the Assembly members still have time to review the
draft provisions and bring the future Tunisian Constitution in compliance with
international standards. They can promote the media freedom without which
vibrant democracy and economic development cannot exist.

Once
all the articles are approved, the assembly has two attempts to approve the
entire document by a two-thirds majority--or it will be put forward for a
referendum, according to the Assembly's bylaws. The Assembly
started the drafting process on November 23, 2011.

[Reporting from Cairo]

Shaimaa Abu Elkhir, an Egyptian journalist and human rights defender, is the former Cairo-based representative for CPJ. She previously worked as the Regional Media and Communications Officer at the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network. In 2008, she was awarded a fellowship at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of North Carolina. She has reported for several Egyptian newspapers and television stations.